Also known as Opposition, Estrangement, Polarizing.
The character 睨 shows eyes looking in different directions. Hexagram 38 is about people or forces at odds: misunderstanding, estrangement and pulling apart. It isn't a disaster. Small things can still go well, and the gap often turns out smaller than it looked.
The figure
Fire over Lake. Fire rises and the lake sinks, so they move apart. It is the reverse of hexagram 37: the household has split, like two sisters living under one roof but heading different ways.
The judgment
Small things go well here. Big ones do not.
In a time of opposition you can't unite everyone around a big plan. Work on small, practical agreements.
The image
Fire going up and marsh going down, moving apart as they go. Keep the common ground and keep your difference.
You can share common ground with people and still keep your own identity. Difference doesn't have to mean hostility.
The six lines
Counted from the bottom, the way the figure is built when you cast it.
- Line 1, at the bottom. Regret goes. A runaway horse needs no chasing; it finds its way home unaided. Be polite to difficult people and you stay out of trouble.
- Line 2. Meeting your lord in a narrow lane. Not a mistake. An unplanned, informal meeting does what a formal one can't.
- Line 3. The cart is dragged back, the oxen stopped, the driver disgraced. A bad start, but a good ending.
- Line 4. Isolated by opposition, you meet someone of like mind and can trust each other. Danger, but you're not at fault.
- Line 5. Regret goes. Your ally bites through the wrapping between you. Going to them, how could that be wrong?
- Line 6, at the top. Isolated and suspicious, you see your companion as a mud-covered pig, a cart full of demons. You draw your bow, then lower it. It isn't a raider but a suitor. Walk on, the rain falls, and it goes well. Suspicion breaks like a storm.
Reading it for a question
Hexagram 38 says you and someone else see things differently. Don't force a big agreement. Find small common ground, meet informally and check whether the enemy you see is really one.